Kümmelweck

By now, most folks have heard of Buffalo Chicken Wings. Although, as a former resident of Buffalo, I have to say that it’s hard to find good ones outside of Buffalo. Best I ever had from another state was at the No Name Pub on Big Pine Key, Florida. Superb pizza, too. Turned out the chef at the time was from, you guessed it, Buffalo. But I digress.

There’s another regional favorite in Buffalo: Beef on ‘Weck. For some reason, not so widely famous. It should be, because it’s so, so good! Thinly sliced medium-rare roast beef with horseradish on Kümmelweck, the top half of the roll having been dipped in the beef juices. Grocery stores around here carry Kaiser rolls, but I’ve never seen any Kümmelweck. King Arthur to the rescue with a delicious recipe! They even sell a plastic stamp for the top of the rolls, if you want them to look somewhat authentic without taking the time to tie ropes of dough.

According to Wikipedia, the name Kümmelweck (sometimes spelled Kimmelweck) comes from the German Kümmel (caraway) and Weck (roll, in a southwestern dialect). So you don’t have to say “Kümmelweck roll” (it’s redundant, like “Sahara desert”), but the Buffalo shorthand “’Weck” is my favorite.

‘Weck is delicious on its own or with nearly any sandwich filling. But if you can get your hands on some medium-rare roast beef au jus, you might just find a little slice of heaven!

1.) In a large mixing bowl or electric mixer, combine the first 10 ingredients (flour through water), leaving out the caraway seeds and coarse salt. Mix to form a shaggy dough.

2.) Knead by hand or machine for 10 minutes, then let the dough rest for 10 minutes. Knead another 10 minutes, until the dough is smooth & supple.

3.) Lightly oil a large bowl. Gather the dough into a ball. Put the ball in, smooth side down, and roll it a bit to let it pick up a bit of the oil. Turn right side up, cover, and allow to rise for one hour. The dough will get puffy, but might not quite double in bulk.

4.) Divide the dough into 6 pieces. Form each piece into a ball with your hands and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Press to slightly flatten the balls. To form the swirly top, you can either use a Kaiser roll cutter or a knife. Press just to the bottom, but not all the way through.

5.) Place cut side down on baking sheet, covered, and let rise for one hour or until puffy. Preheat oven to 425°F.

6.) Turn right sides up. Brush with a bit of melted butter; sprinkle with caraway seeds & coarse salt. Bake 15 – 18 minutes, until golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. The rolls are at their best the same day but are still quite good the next. In the unlikely event that you still have some left after that, they’re delicious cut in half and toasted.

Directions

1.) In a large mixing bowl or electric mixer, combine the first 10 ingredients (flour through water), leaving out the caraway seeds and coarse salt. Mix to form a shaggy dough.

2.) Knead by hand or machine for 10 minutes, then let the dough rest for 10 minutes. Knead another 10 minutes, until the dough is smooth & supple.

3.) Lightly oil a large bowl. Gather the dough into a ball. Put the ball in, smooth side down, and roll it a bit to let it pick up a bit of the oil. Turn right side up, cover, and allow to rise for one hour. The dough will get puffy, but might not quite double in bulk.

4.) Divide the dough into 6 pieces. Form each piece into a ball with your hands and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Press to slightly flatten the balls. To form the swirly top, you can either use a Kaiser roll cutter or a knife. Press just to the bottom, but not all the way through.

5.) Place cut side down on baking sheet, covered, and let rise for one hour or until puffy. Preheat oven to 425°F.

6.) Turn right sides up. Brush with a bit of melted butter; sprinkle with caraway seeds & coarse salt. Bake 15 – 18 minutes, until golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. The rolls are at their best the same day but are still quite good the next. In the unlikely event that you still have some left after that, they’re delicious cut in half and toasted.